>> now, abc 7 news at 11:00, on your side. >> everybody has a plan until they are punched in the face, and we are about to get punched in the face. kimberly:

hurricane irma throwing strong punches on florida, making a second landfall and riding up the west coast of the state. tonight, the biggest concern, storm surge, up to 15 feet in some areas, and millions are now without power. in place in miami, fort lauderdale, tampa, and most of south florida. president trump's disasterflorida's declaration. steve rudin begins our team coverage with the very latest update on irma. steve: a brand-new update came in about one minute ago. we have the wind now at 100 miles per hour, wind gusts at 120, and still moving due north at 14. will gradually decrease, the good news, the next 24 hours. we are still talking about a category two storm. from the center of the storm and around it

have hurricane-force wind. another 400 miles from the center of the storm, we have tropical-force winds. will stay asthis it moves through the overnight. category two late night and early tomorrow morning, and then the system begins to rain it self drifting to the north and west. than 24t 8:00, less hours from now, it will be hugging georgia-alabama border, moving to the west with the wind at just about 50 miles per hour. this storm is far from over. tampa is about to be in the middle of the strongest winds that remain. we had down there with meteorologist josh knight to is been of duty the last few days. he has quite a story to tell for stop josh? josh: yeah, steve, it is really kicking up. it has been the constant gusty wind the last several hours.

comes and goes. it is the wind gusts that have really been the issue, really getting fondled between the buildings. we have been fairly fortunate with the storm trak. that helped us out as far as avoiding the strongest winds, but it is still gusting close to 70 miles per hour for a lot of the evening, and will be doing that for the next few hours. we still have not seen the storm trak to the north, so we still have the nice easter lee brees, keeping the extra water further out, but the wind will shift and that will change things for us. lorraine continues to come down. areing around, the lights still on downtown, and that mix a big difference. we have really been lucky. i have seen some flashes in the distance. i was checking radar and did not see lightning. i think more likely some places having electrical problems. fingers crossed we hold on to that, but we still have several hours to go. timidly, back inside to your.

despite the warning, people were wading into tampa bay. irma sucked out the water, but officials warned that is temporary and will send it all rushing back in. our live team coverage continues as we track irma with brad bell also in tampa. brad, what have you got? brad: it's interesting to hear josh call this a nice easter lee brees. the wind is howling. we have seen the hurricane force wind the past couple hours. the storm surge will not come until later when the storm moves by, but that is a concern. this town divided into storm risk zones. this. is a pretty good wind gust that was a piece of plastic that just came flying down and landed in the street. anduntil the storm moves by the wind changes direction come this area possibly coulfl

one of the concerns is what falls off these buildings. we just saw something fall a little while ago. this came raining down from the sky, a piece of a sign from a hotel sex stories up a block down. and then this came flying down, a palm frond. well, the winds coming from this direction, no palm tree there. that flew over the top of a parking garage and came down the street. the rain continues to fall, almost whitecaps in the street. things we will be looking for, damage from the wind, josh mentioned power outage of. i'm also seeing the arcing in the sky. back to you. kimberly: watch your head and stay safe. it seems everyone has a connection to florida. i have 10 relatives down there. we have all spent countless hours and

track of our loved ones. cheryl conner caught up with people in d.c. they are relying on technology to keep in touch. cheryl: it's a beautiful night in d.c., but this person's. >> will everything be ok at home? cheryl: calm water here, but now where he grew up. he checks in on his parents, who are writing up a storm at a hospital near tampa. his dad is a doctor. >> the lights went out and the generators came on. the wind is blowing so hard, i do not think you can drive. cheryl: the dr. is staying at the hospital for a few nights and he brought his wife. does that make you feel more comfortable through the storm? >> ye cheryls. -- yes. cheryl: chelsea

for a call back from coral gables, near miami. >> we have been trying all day to get a hold of them. cheryl: her husband's grandparents live in a retirement home. hurricane-proof glass and it's really secure and safe. cheryl: this person says he has never been through a storm like irma and he is concerned tampa is not prepared. >> we have never been hit hard. i'm happy they are in a safe location. cheryl: in georgetown, cheryl conner, abc 7 news. kimberly: tonight nearly 31 5 million homes and businesses have lost power. that number is expected to rise considerably. the widespread outages stretch from the florida keys to central florida. the governor is warning it could be weeks until power is restored. pepco is sending more than 2

employees and contractors to florida, joining about 1,800 utility workers, including more &e contractors and employees, helping florida power and light in what is expected to be one of the largest power restoration efforts in history. >> a lot of downed wire, obstructions of the power lines and poles down. mobile command's vehicle is filled with workspace, satellite dishes, and funds to help dispatch crews. florida officials have supplies ready to help residents when it is safe. a have stored 3.2 million liters of water. there are 67 trailers filled with meals. officials also reached out to the federal government to kick in money for food and water. they have also asked

complete abc 7 for coverage of hurricane irma. that is at wjla.com, and you can also download our stormwatch 7 weather app. a tragic house fire in montgomery county. one man died, another rushed to the hospital as flames raced through this home about a mile from the national institute of health. as q mccray reports, firefighters ran into some hurdles. q: law enforcement confirmed one person passed away and another was rushed to the hospital. this is a look at the scene. this is the 5200 block of dan berry road, near highland avenue. these are montgomery county firefighters and police officers. they have been here since 4:30 this afternoon, when they got the call that the fire at this house. according to firefighters,

when they got here the house was on fire and a man met them at the door. he was rushed to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. he told firefighters his friend was still inside. firefighters did their best to get inside the home. once they were inside, they were met with what they described as supporting conditions, especially -- hoarding conditions, especially in the basement. he found his friend, but he had passed away in the basement. >> there was lots of boxes and materials and stuff like that piled up, which made it difficult to search and also added to the fire load. q: authorities have not released the name of the man who passed away, the same for the man who was rushed to the hospital, but they say he is 31 years old and will survive. the cause of this fire is still under investigation. that is the latest from bethesda. q mccray, abc 7 news. kimberly: coming up

we return to our top story, tracking hurricane irma. the category two storm is climbing the western coast of florida. up next, a look at where she is now and where she will be when you wake up. plus, a florida man tries to ride out irma on his boat. it did not work out that well.

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sam just snagged it from you canhomegoods.is frenchie. it reminds him of bennie. only quieter. you can't have this frenchie. but new finds are always arriving. so you can find something so you, for less. at homegoods. >> this is a special edition of abc 7 news, tracking irma. 10 days: it took irma to cross the atlantic and hit the u.s. you could also see hurricane jose just behind irma. jose is weakening as it turns north into cooler waters. >> the walls were shaking. kimberly: she said it was like poltergeist. bey americans had to

the powerful hurricane plunged vacations into nightmares. americans forced to ride out the storm in the islands and then an armed gang stormed the hotel, purses. generators and >> it was chaos, total destruction. ew tonight, night vision video of the air national guard continuing to evacuate u.s. citizens from st. maarten. both the state and defense departments say that citizens who still need to get out should shelter in place until tomorrow and head to the airport by noon and bring proof of citizenship. it will be several days before we know the full extent of one through the florida keys. we got a look at some of the damage before sundown. homes in key largo largely survived the storm

there is good news from key west. hisest hemingway's house and cats survived the storm. a wrote out the storm with staff. the highest peak, was 16 feet above sea level. a man on florida's east coast tried to ride out hurricane irma on his boat. then his anchor broke. he is a scuba diver, so he decided to swim to safety. as conditions worsened, video captured from a nearby condo when two people try to pull him out of the water. he was taken to a local shelter. a live look at irma's wrath, whipping our cameras.

of florida is being impacted. we are joined by meteorologist steve rudin. even though this is a category two, still a lot of water expected to follow. steve: it is a big storm. you take the center of the storm, go out 80 miles with hurricane force wind. from the same center, go out 400 miles with tropical force winds. a lot to get through the next eight to 10 hours. a brand-new update on jose coming up. wayne and so you see the path of that one. now, we haveright a lot of rain pushing across central florida, heavy rain, strong gusty wind. if you have friends or family in the orlando area, they are gearing up for the worst of the storm over the next few hours. we are watching this band over here, a very strong band that will slip through with the gusty wind, heavier downpours.

like, spinning this around. here is the band a very strong storm activity that will continue to wrap around what is left of the eye of the storm, bringing in a little dry air. this is near cape canaveral. not out of the woods. still tornado watches and likely the potential of strong storms, maybe even tornadoes through the overnight. gusts:00 up a, the wind up to 120. the storm continues to move north at 14 miles per hour. the pressure a good indicator that it is weakening. they categorytwo storm. through the day tomorrow and early next week, this week i should say, things will improve and become a general rainmaker into the day monday and tuesday before completely fizzles out.

shows how the wind will slowly subside. by this time tomorrow night, the sternest of the winds will be across georgia. speaking of jose, this wraps around and around and around. one model by this friday wants to move it a little further to the west. definitely worth watching in the coming days. around here, in the 50's right now. 63 degrees at reagan national. , another8 to 58 cool wake up. a time highs looking good, 77 degrees. as we move showers through the middle of the week. by the upcoming weekend, near 80 degrees. we will keep you updated on jose. and tomorrow morning, another chilly morning. this morning was the coolest morning and over 115 days. kimberly: wow. no way, j

is more. kimberly: that's a lot, steve. it's not over for the redskins. it's only one game. hopefully it was not a foreshadowing of what is to come. reaction to the redskins-eagles, next.

>> and the now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers. the redskins five-game winning streak over the eagles snap today. late in the second quarter, the skins on the move, kirk cousins over the middle to chris thompson. great effort, breaks a couple tackles. 29 yard score. the eagles still led 16-14 at the break.

gets hit as he throws. it is ruled a fumble, picked up. touchdown eagles. the fourth turnover by the skins will stopthey lose 30-17. coach gruden: it is frustrating. i think we are better at that. we all had our hand in it. thel had a chance to win, defense kept us in the game, but infertility the turnover for a touchdown cost us. robert: nats-phillies. trea turner launches it. nats win. the best is yet to come. the marlins lost to the braves, so the nationals clenched their fourth national league title in six years. uncorking the champagne at nats park. congrats.

antennae, erin hawksworth and scott abraham were in the locker room after the redskins game and will have reaction. that is out at 11:35. to the mystics advance eastern conference semifinals, beating the new york liberty. fun stuff. kimberly: the mystics having a good season. robert: the

kimberly: a key step in the recovery from hurricane harvey. many students who were left homeless from the hurricane will go to school tomorrow. up to 40,000 students were impacted by the storm and flooding. most schools have been closed. emotional moment in houston before the texans game. star linebacker j.j. watt led the team out of the tunnel to a deafening ovation. he helped raise $31 million for harvey relief of the first responders held the flag and saying the national anthem. haverricanes and flooding -- released this project to include all five former living presidents was originally started

victims in texas, but has been expanded to include irma. and a giant win at the box office. >> people disappeared. kimberly: a new adaptation of earned $117's "it" million in its opening weekend. that is the biggest opening ever for a poor movie and the biggest september opening in history. comedye witherspoon "home again" finished second. a final look at the forecast next.

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sam just snagged it from you canhomegoods.is frenchie. it reminds him of bennie. only quieter. you can't have this frenchie. but new finds are always arriving. so you can find something so you, for less. at homegoods. kimberly: as we continue to track irma, some say the best way to tell how hard it hit miami is to track human coffee consumption. it'